Illegal dumping of trade waste is not to be tolerated

A director of a Brighton based construction company has been fined £75 and ordered to pay costs of £264 for fly-tipping in Queens Road. He has been lucky this time. Next time it could be a fined up to £50,000 and a custodial sentence.

David Hossacks, a director of Environ Construction, Brighton was fined after a member of the public reported the illegal dumping in Queens Road to council enforcement officers. When they investigated, they found evidence that linked the waste to Environ Construction, based in Bond Street.

Mr Hossacks was formally interviewed by enforcement officers and accepted that the waste had been left by a member of his staff. However, he denied that there was any intention to illegally fly-tip and told officers that he had arranged for the waste to be removed by a clearance company but that officers from the city council had found the waste before the company had time to remove it.

Cityclean director Gillian Marston reminded businesses owners that they must ensure that staff are aware of the rules surrounding the disposal of trade waste.

“When our enforcement officers find evidence of fly tipping it is the company directors who face prosecution,” she said. “Our approach has to be tough as we simply cannot expect our council tax payers to foot the bill for fly-tip clearance”

Cityclean decided to deal with this case out of court using its legal powers under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Had the case gone to court, Mr Hossacks could have been fined up to £50,000 and/or faced 6 months in prison.